


Nothing Good Ever Happens After 2 AM (Except When it Does)

by LanaSerra



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Coda, F/F, F/M, Love Confessions, M/M, Multi, Post-Episode: s15e19 Inherit the Earth, Supernatural (TV) Spoilers, post-episode 15x19
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:40:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27601535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LanaSerra/pseuds/LanaSerra
Summary: Now that's Jack's in charge upstairs, everything is starting to return to normal. Whatever normal is. But some things take longer than others to process. And Dean has been processing for years.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Donna Hanscum/Jody Mills, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, Kaia Nieves/Claire Novak
Comments: 44
Kudos: 152





	Nothing Good Ever Happens After 2 AM (Except When it Does)

**Author's Note:**

> The last couple of weeks sure have been an emotional roller coaster, haven't they?  
> This is the very first Coda that I have ever felt compelled to write (Reviews, on the other hand, I greatly enjoy, see my [Tumblr Review of 15x19](https://lanaserra.tumblr.com/post/634656769004732416/tonight-on-supernatural-in-which-dean-does-not) for example.)  
> But once I had the thought, it wouldn't leave me alone until I told my amazing and lovely Beta [Spandwiches](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spandwiches/pseuds/spandwiches) all about it. Naturally, she demanded it be written, and who was I to argue?
> 
> Credit for the scene dividers goes to [Writeyourmindaway!](https://writeyourmindaway.tumblr.com/tagged/dividers)
> 
> Please enjoy.

The mood in the car was somber. Sure they were on their way to Jody’s, to reconnect and celebrate with her and the girls. They’d turned the car around the moment they found out Jack had restored their friends to this plane of existence. It wasn’t as if they had had a destination in mind when they’d set out either. Just a need to not be in the empty bunker, filled with the with memories of those they’d lost. So of course they were thrilled that these members of their family survived. And that Bobby had survived, that Charlie and her girlfriend had survived. But...

Well.

The drive was a quiet one.

Two and a half hours in, Sam’s phone buzzed. Dean glanced over at his brother just in time to see Sam’s eyes widen and hear the sharp intake of breath…

Dean’s hands curled tightly on the steering wheel, his knuckles going white. He thought they were done with the awful surprises, done with all the problems that came with the world ending. Yet again.

“Sam?” Dean asked stiffly, glancing over again to see tears on his brother’s face.

“Fuck,” Dean quickly pulled over to the side of the road. Whatever this was, it wasn’t the kind of news he should be multitasking for. “Sammy?! What is it?”

“Eileen,” Sam said, glancing up at him, hope shining from his face. “She’s alive.”

“Ah. Thank fuck.” Dean sighed in relief, dropping his head to the steering wheel for a moment. At least one of them would get their happy ending. He raised his head and shot his brother a smile. “Where is she? We’ll go pick her up.”

A few more tears leaked out of Sam’s eyes as he texted her back furiously. Dean sat, waiting, watching his brother. This was good. This was right. Sam deserved this. And Eileen was great. Didn’t let Sam get away with anything. And now with Chuck out of the way, they were hopefully on the same page and could get down to the business of being together.

Finally, Sam looked up at him with a bright smile that Dean hadn’t seen in far too long.

“She said she’d meet us at Jody’s.”

“Good. That’s great, Sammy!” Baby rumbled back into life as Dean turned the ignition and then pulled back onto the highway.

“Don’t wait to tell her,” Dean said to the steering wheel and pushed Baby to go a little bit faster, Sam typing away beside him.

  


They had barely stepped out of the car when Eileen tackled Sam. Despite her short stature, the force of Eileen’s hug sent the two of them stumbling back a few steps, but Sam held on and after a few steps back they had stabilized. They kissed as if the rest of the people on the driveway had ceased to exist once more.

Dean didn’t even have time to let that thought sink in before Donna pulled him into a crushing hug.

“Hey, there you,” she grinned, “glad you’re still with us.”

“Hey Donna, you too. Or that you’re back with us.”

Donna stepped back and then Claire was in his arms. Apparently being cool and aloof was not on the agenda for today. He hugged the young woman tightly, placing a kiss on her head. He didn’t know how or when he started thinking of her as his kid—or maybe kid sister—but it had happened, independently from… But he had, and he was grateful. He was even more grateful for the fact that she was here, alive, in his arms. With a world where free will reigned once again. A world where kids like Claire could choose to live a good life—a normal life—free from the pain of hunting if she wanted. One where she had all the potential in the world and the ability to choose her own fate. If Dean could pick, it would be a life where she’d never be on a first-name basis with Death. But that was for Claire to choose, and he would never take away her right to choose it. He looked up and made eye contact with Jody over Claire’s head. She smiled sadly at him. They’d told Claire then, that—that not everyone had made it.

“Glad you’re not dead, old man,” Claire sniffed as she stepped back, discretely wiping her eyes. Kaia took her hand and the two of them curled into one another. He was glad to see them together, confident in who they were as people and what they meant to each other. For some reason, these young women had been able to just accept things he’d struggled to get his head around his entire life. Claire deserved this happiness. Deserved to have her loved one beside her after all of the pain and grief she had been dealt in her young life.

Dean deserved what he’d gotten too. He’d put just as much pain and suffering into this world than he had removed from it. And It wasn’t like he was going to win any parent of the year awards anytime soon. He was just the guy who got shit done. Ready to off family members the moment it became useful to do so.

_That’s not who I am._

Jody stepped in to hug him tightly and Dean hugged her back, grateful that she hadn’t said any of the sad words and condolences that were on the lips and in the eyes of everyone here. She pulled back and squeezed his arm comfortingly before going over to hug Sam, who had finally been released by Eileen long enough to be welcomed by everyone else.

  


Dinner was a riot of the sounds of laughter and joy. Love seemed to fill the room full to bursting. It washed over Dean in waves but never seemed to reach him or to warm him up. He hadn’t even let Jody take his jacket when they’d come into the house. He hadn’t taken it off since… It was the only thing he had left.

The girls had surprised them with a literal feast of food. All home-cooked goodness that any other day Dean would have loved. Today, it tasted like ash in his mouth. The only thing that seemingly had any flavour at all was the beer Jody had placed in his hand as he sat down at the table. Honestly, he would have preferred whiskey, but the beer would do. For now.

Dean plastered a smile on his face as he chatted with everyone at the table. He wasn’t going to be the buzzkill that ruined this for everyone. Normally Sam would be all over him about it, seeing through his mask, but tonight his brother only had eyes for Eileen who practically glowed with happiness at his side.

The moment the meal ended he’d insisted on doing the dishes—alone. He wanted to be useful, to give his hands something to do, to be away from the suffocating joy around him. So he drank his beer and washed the dishes. But once he was done, he just couldn’t bring himself to join them again.

Dean snagged another beer from the fridge and made his way out to Jody’s back yard, taking a seat in one of her many mismatched deck chairs. He sipped in silence for a long time, looking at the sky before the words began tumbling out of him unprompted.

“Don’t know why I’m even looking at the sky. S’not like you’re there. In Heaven, I mean. With however many Dicks with Wings are even still up there. Maybe Jack will smack some sense into them. Or I guess make more less-douchey versions of your siblings?

Do you know that Jack’s become the new Chuck? Can’t even say it’s the weirdest thing that’s happened to us.” Dean sighed and took another swallow of beer. “One moment he’s our kid, the next, this unknowable omnipotent being.

I don’t even know what I’m doing. You can’t even hear me in the Empty.” Dean took another long swig, rolling the glass bottle between his hands.

He was quiet for a long time.

“It’s not like you gave me a fuckin’ chance, you asshole,” Dean snarled and finished the drink, ruthlessly shoving down his desire to smash the bottle into a million tiny pieces. He wasn’t going to cause a mess for Jody and the girls to clean up, and he certainly was in no state to deal with broken glass.

“Fucking dying after telling me that shit. Not even letting me respond? I don’t deserve your...ugh.” Dean cut himself off and wiped his eyes.

_You're the most caring man on earth. You're the most selfless, loving human being I will ever know._

“I’m trying to believe you, I am. But you’re not here. And I… don’t want to do this without you. I can’t do this without you.” His voice broke and he felt the tears roll down his face once more. He thought he had cried himself out in the dungeon, but apparently, he had years worth of tears left to give. “Why aren’t you here, Cas!?”

A half-hour later Dean finally made it back inside to spend time with what family he had left.

  


Jody had started musing about where everyone was going to sleep after another two rounds of drinks and a few unfortunate rounds of Pictionary. Jody and Donna would be in Jody’s room, Claire and Kaia in Claire’s, Alex and Patience would double up so that Sam and Eileen could share Patience’s room, and Dean would get the couch. Plenty of space for everyone. Jody was just asking Alex to grab some linens from the closet for Dean when a loud sharp knock broke into the myriad of conversations. Nothing good happened after 2 AM, even when they were things that knocked politely. Everyone blinked at the door before reaching for their weapons.

Whatever it was, it had picked the wrong fucking house to mess with.

Dean got up first, Sam directly behind him. No one and nothing was getting in here to hurt these people.

Dean tried to check the window first, but whoever was at the door stood in a shadowed spot that he couldn’t get a clear view of. He’d been surprised one too many times to put his eye up to the peephole. Instead, he flung the door open, gun raised.

Before he could even get a word out, his vision was filled with blue eyes, dark messy hair, and that stupid ill-fitting tan trenchcoat.

“Hello, Dean, ...sorry I’m late.”

The exclamations of joy from the people behind him faded into the buzz of white noise in Dean’s head. Cas was here, alive, rumpled and tired-looking. That stupid backwards blue tie, his scuffed up dress shoes. Those unfathomable eyes. He was here. And he was perfect.

Dean reached out and grabbed him, hauling the Angel into his arms.

“You asshole!” Dean whispered fiercely against the neck his face was now buried in. Cas arms went around him in return, tentatively, as if he was unsure what Dean’s intentions were.

“Dean—”.

“No!” Dean snarled and hugged him tighter, “you’ve said your piece, it’s my turn.”

Cas nodded into Dean’s shoulder but didn’t relax into the hug, Dean breathed deeply. How many second chances was he going to waste? His guts were all tied up in knots, but this time, this time he was going to set them free.

_Don’t wait to tell him._

“Don’t you ever do that again. No more goodbyes. Ever.”

Dean felt more than saw Cas’s intake of breath before he nodded against Dean’s shoulder. He distantly noticed that everything else behind him had gone quiet as well.

“Ever?” Cas whispered.

Dean finally pulled back enough that he could look at the Angel’s face, now more hopeful than unsure.

“I… Can’t take it, okay. You not being here. Because I want it too. You. I mean. Us. “

“Dean—”

“Can’t a guy confess he’s in love with his best friend without being interrupted every other sentence?!”

Cas broke out into that amazing smile Dean had only seen a handful of times, one, in particular, had been playing in his head on repeat for days now. Cas finally relaxed into his arms and Dean took another breath, trying and failing to calm his racing heart.

“I love you too, Cas.”

Cas beamed at him.

“So, if that’s really what you want, then. Hell yeah, I’m in,” Dean said decisively. “We don’t have to hunt, but we can or—”

“Dean,” Cas interrupted again, but Dean found he didn’t mind this time, now that he’d finally said the words that had lurked quietly in his heart for years. “I’m going to kiss you now.”

And Cas did.

Dean Winchester, kissing an Angel of the Lord. His Angel. His Cas. His everything. Finally.

  


Sometime later, Dean pulled Cas into the house and shut the door behind them. The moment the door closed, Sam, Jody, Donna and the girls exploded in cheers and applause, showering them with hugs and affection.

“About damn time,” Jody smirked.

“You don’t even know the half of it,” Sam replied with a long-suffering sigh, before he smiled. “I’m happy for you guys.”

“Thank you, Sam, I am happy for you two as well,” Cas replied while signing to Eileen.

“Thanks, Sammy.”

The joy in the room that had suffocated Dean earlier, now filled him in way he didn’t think he’d ever experienced before. He and the people he loved were alive, safe, together, and happy.

It was the start of a new chapter in the story of the rest of their lives.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Come find me on [Tumblr ](https://lanaserra.tumblr.com) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Lana_Writes) so we can scream about what happens on Thursday!


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